HPV Vaccinations

Letters have been posted out by 1st class mail today. Please ensure that your child's consent form is returned (completed and signed!) to the School Office by Wednesday 31st March. Unfortunately, pupils whose forms are received after that date may not be vaccinated.

The HPV vaccine has been offered free to girls in secondary schools in Scotland since 2008. High uptake of the HPV vaccine has reduced levels of cancer-causing HPV in young women in Scotland by 90%.

• The gender neutral programme was due to launch in Lothian in 2020 and was postponed due to school closures.
• Please ensure that your child's consent form is returned (completed and signed!) by 31 March. Unfortunately, pupils whose forms are received after that date may not be vaccinated.
• Every S1 pupil, regardless of gender is eligible for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for free.
• There is no catch up programme for boys other than those who were in S1 from the launch of the programme in 2020.
• The HPV vaccine protects against HPV which can cause head and neck, cervical and anogenital cancers.
• In the last term before the summer holidays 2021, NHS Lothian will be vaccinating eligible pupils in S1-S6 in school who have either not started or not completed their HPV vaccination course.
• Two doses are generally recommended for full protection.

More information

• Please visitwww.nhsinform.scot/hpv (opens new window) for more information.
• For more information on HPV-related cancers visit www.hpv-vaccine.scot (opens new window)
• For more about HPV as well as other sources of help and information visit www.nhsinform.scot/hpv (opens new window)
• To access the NHSScotland HPV leaflet for 2019-20 in English, Arabic, Polish, simplified Chinese or as an Easy Read version visit www.healthscotland.com/documents/5988.aspx (opens new window)
• To access the BSL version of the HPV information leaflet visitwww.youtube.com/watch?v=14YjLfi_uYE  (opens new window)
• For publications or documents in an alternative format such as large print, braille and audio versions, please contact Health Scotland publications by emailing nhs.healthscotland-alternativeformats@nhs.net (opens new window)
• For information on young people's right to consent visitwww.nhsinform.scot/consentunder16 (opens new window)
• To access the stakeholder HPV toolkit please visitwww.nhsinform.scot/campaigns/hpv#campaign-resources (opens new window)<<>